UPDATED STORY
By Jim Keyworth
Gazette Blog Editor
Kandis Mueller and several other Mesa del Caballo residents are circulating a petition urging that the Blue Ridge/C.C. Cragin Water Treatment Plant not be located immediately adjacent to their community.
An alternate site across Houston Mesa Road near Shoofly Ruins is already cleared, and many residents are expressing this site as their preference in response to a draft environmental assessment performed by the Forest Service.
Mesa del residents willing to help circulate petitions should contact Mueller at 478-6887. The signed petitions and copies will be hand delivered to the Forest Supervisor and several other people.
The items has also been placed on the March 1 (Tuesday) Town of Payson Council work/study meeting agenda. The meeting is held at the Town Council room at 303 N Beeline (in the Town Hall area across from Walmart) at 4 p.m. Mesa del residents are encouraged to attend the meeting so the community will be heard on the matter.
The Mesa del Caballo Community Center/El Caballo Club, which represents over 80 Mesa del households, recently adopted a position in favor of the Shoofly location and so notified the Forest Service.
The adjacent site would butt up against 8-10 homes along Mesa del's eastern boundary, effectively blocking the views of those homeowners. It would also require cutting down many trees to clear the site. Homeowners have also expressed concerns about noise pollution emanating from the plant.
Payson water guru Buzz Walker told a Mesa del resident today (Feb. 28) that the Forest Service is mandating the location, that the water treatment plant is a 21st Century facility that will make no noise, that its low profile will not obstruct views of the Rim, and that the town has already bought 10 acres for the site.
The text of Community Center President Jim Keyworth's comments to the Forest Service:
"As president of the Mesa del Caballo Community Center/El Caballo Club, a civic organization with over 80 Mesa del Caballo households as members, I would like to express our displeasure with WTP2, the water treatment plant site that adjoins our community. This site was not even mentioned at the public scoping meeting held at Julia Randall Elementary, and introducing it as the favorite at this late date seems unfair. We prefer the Shoofly site, WTP1, which is already cleared and will not have a negative impact on our community, especially those households directly behind WTP2. It doesn't make sense to impact the lifestyle and property values of our community when a much preferable site right across Houston Mesa Rd. is available."
Mesa del Caballo, located 1.8 miles northeast of Payson off Houston Mesa Road, is the largest community along the Blue Ridge pipeline route. The community has approximately 400 homes and 375 water hookups serviced by Brooke Utilities.
The Mesa del Caballo Water Committee, sponsored by the Community Center/El Caballo Club, is working closely with Brooke Utilities on a number of water issues, including the Blue Ridge/Cragin project.
The Blue Ridge/Cragin pipeline, when completed in 2013 or 2014, will deliver up to 4.5 million gallons (3,000 acre feet) per year to Payson. Mesa del and other northern Gila County communities are entitled to 500 acre feet.
The deadline for public comments on the Environmental Assessment is March 4, 2011. For additional information, contact Larry Hettinger at the Payson Ranger District, 928-474-7948.
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